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References to Other Works in Gate
The light novel, anime, and manga of Gate all contain a number of references to other works of fiction, both Japanese and foreign. Below is a list of confirmed and suspected references to other works in the light novel, anime, and/or manga. Popular culture Common expressions/puns *When Rory sits on Yoji's lap during their first encounter, an exacerbated Yoji tells her not to touch his pistol, then, shortly afterwards, not to touch him "there". This could be a reference to the common one-liner and sexual pun "Is that a gun in you're pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Originally a stereotypical one-liner of prostitutes in westerns, its has since gained wider use, usually in a humorous manner. In this case, it is somewhat ironic, as it actually is a gun, and Yoji is not at all happy with Rory's antics at the time. Mobile gaming *In the first anime episode, Yoji Itami loses a mobile RPG game because he is out of credits purchased with actual money, and unable to even move. This is poking fun at the increasing number of mobile games requiring the player to spend actual money just to make the game playable - i.e. on lives, items etc. Literature ''Lord of the Rings'' *In the manga, a JSDF soldier is seen watching a DVD during before the Battle of Alnus Hill, in which the dialogue refers to a character named "Frodo". This may be a references to the character of the same name in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series of fantasy novels, and the associated movie series. *In the manga's chapter 84, the sage treating Emperor Molt resembles Saruman in name (Samaruman) and his appearance from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. ''A Song of Ice and Fire''/''Game of Thrones'' *The poisoning of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus by drinking poisoned wine is similar to that of death King Joffrey Baratheon in George R.R. Martin's fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and the associated TV series Game of Thrones. Ironically, it is not the Emperor himself, but his son, Zorzal El Caesar, who is himself reminiscent of Joffrey Baratheon - both characters are arrogant, blonde-haired young men with a sadistic personality, who relish in bringing violence on others, but cave when faced with violence themselves. *The anime version of Molt Sol Augustus greatly resembles Tywin Lannister as portrayed in the Game of Thrones TV series, albeit a younger version. *The first name of Hodor Marceau may be also be a reference to a character of the same name in A Song of Ice and Fire, though the two characters are nothing alike. Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico *A panel from the manga where a naked Tyuule is kneeling before Zorzal, offering her sword to him as a form of subjugation, is based on a description from Julius Ceasar's De Bello Galico (About the Gallic War). In this commentary, Julius Caesar describes how Gallic warchiefs surrender by kneeling naked before him and his officers to show submission, offering their families' holy swords. This description is the basis for some artworks which influced the scene from the manga. Movies ''Alien'' franchise *When Itami takes a look beyond Lelei's first gate, he returns telling of a scene with hatching eggs which matches the description of Facehugger eggs from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise) Alien films]. Following that, Itami makes a joke referring to the Alien Chestbursters, for which he is immediately placed in solitary confinement. *In the manga series' Journey Chapter short strip "Alien", which takes place after the Arrun Labyrinth story, Itami makes a macabre joke to Yao about an Alien, which leads to the faint suspicion that Rory may have been implanted with a Chestburster. ''Apocalypse Now'' *The Japan Self-Defense Forces 4th Combat Teams' helicopter forces play Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries when they attack the bandit forces during the Battle of Italica. This is a reference to a scene in the movie Apocalypse Now, which the helicopter forces of the US military attack Viet Cong troops, in a very similar scene. *The commander of the JSDF forces in the Special Region further references the movie by asking if the commander of the 4th is possessed by the ghost of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, a reckless, eccentric air cavalry commander in the same film. *A JSDF soldier also quotes Apocalypse Now when explaining that he sits on his helmet to avoid "getting his balls blown off". ''James Cameron's Avatar'' *A scene of Lt. Colonel Shunya Kengun drinking coffee in the fifth anime episode closely resembles a scene featuring Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron's Avatar. ''Full Metal Jacket'' *A chocolate bar given to Noriko Mochizuki by a JSDF soldier after her rescue is of the "Full Metal Choco" brand, featuring the likeness of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the famous drill sergeant played by R. Lee Ermey in the movie Full Metal Jacket. (This pun was also used in one issue of Sao Satoru's previous manga work ''Convenience Store DMZ''.) *Pina's quote, "Those who run are traitors, those who stay are scheming traitors" is also reference to the movie in which the original quote, "Anyone who runs is a VC (Viet Cong), anyone who stands still is a well-disciplined VC," is used. A similar quote, with "VC" replaced by "enemy", appears in the first part of the All-Out Attack novel chapter. ''Generation Kill'' *The scene in the second anime episode where Yōji Itami and Takeo Kurata sing the Mei-Com opening in the Toyota high mobility vehicle may be reference to a scene in which a pair of US soldier break into song while riding in a Humvee in the movie Generation Kill. ''Godzilla'' franchise *Sōichirō Kuwahara describes the Flame Dragon as a "one-headed King Ghidorah", referring to the monster from the Godzilla series of films. He also states that "the JSDF has a tradition of fighting giant monsters", further referencing the films. *The term [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiju kaiju] ("strange beast"), a staple term for Godzilla and his fellow film monsters, is used by the Japanese government in Gate as an official monicker for the Flame Dragon. ''Kagemusha'' *The "Prologue" chapter of novel Volume 1, Contact, references the final cavalry charges at the climax of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagemusha Kagemusha] in reference to the slaughter of the Imperial Army at the first battle of Alnus Hill. ''Mad Max'' *In the manga side-story "Praise Me!" Lelei enacts the V8 cult ritual from the movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max:_Fury_Road Mad Max: Fury Road]. ''Monty Python'' films *The Warrior Bunnies' habit of collecting the heads of their slain enemies may be a subtle nod towards the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail Monty Python and the Holy Grail]. ''Sengoku Jieitai'' *At two points, the novel series makes indirect references to the Japanese science fiction film Sengoku Jieitai (1979), which features a motley group of JSDF soldiers getting stranded 400 years in the past. In the "Prologue" chapter of Volume 1, Contact, it is mentioned (if not by name) as inspirational reference material for the JSDF's initial battle with the Empire's soldiers; and during a battle described in Volume IV, All-Out Attack (chapter IX), ambush trenches and fire rams, as used in the movie, are employed by Zorzal's forces against the JSDF. ''Seven Samurai'' *During the siege of Italica, Itami and his squad often refer themselves as seven samurai like in the movie, since they are defending Italica from the large horde of bandits much like the seven ronin who were hired by villagers try to defend that village from bandits. Manga Sao Satoru's manga works * ]The Gate manga series sports frequent cameos by Niffy (ニッフィ), a rabbit character created by Sao Satoru. Oftentimes, Rory Mercury characteristically even adopts Niffy's typical ironic expression. *''Convenience Store DMZ'' is a military comedy manga published in 2007, created and drawn by Satoru, the artist for the Gate manga series. Its main characters make a few cameo appearances in the mangas as Japanese workers at the Alnus Living Community's PX Store. Anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' *Lelei's physical design and characteristic emotionless demeanor were quite likely inspired by the character Rei Ayanami from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion Neon Genesis Evangelion] franchise. ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' *Both the late and current rulers of Italica resemble characters from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. ''Psycho-Pass'' *The anime design of Hideyo Komakado greatly resembles the character Tomomi Masaoka from the 2012-2013 anime series [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-Pass Psycho-Pass]. ''Sword Art Online'' *The anime version of Sherry Tyueli greatly resembles the character Silica from Sword Art Online, and also shares her seiyuu. ''Fate/Stay Night'' *The Japanese Special Forces call signs are named for the classes of servant in the anime Fate/Stay Night- "Saber, Lancer, Archer, Berserker, Caster, Assassin, and Rider". Itami is given the call sign "Avenger", the name of a eighth class of servant. *During the Hakone Incident, the JSDF Special Forces use the code phrase "Attention all servants. The grail has been filled." Presumable another reference to Fate/Zero or Fate/Stay Night that matches their use of the servant's classes. This reference continues on later such as how, during the Bombing of the Imperial Senate, one of the JSDF F-4 Phantom jet fighters' call sign was Saber. *Lelei La Lelena uses her magic to levitate the weapons of those who had failed to kill the Flame Dragon in the past, and propel them towards the target like a storm of flying blades, similar to Archer's "Unlimited Blade Works" attack. ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventures'' *After Rory goes on a rampage against foreign special forces during the Hakone incident, the Japanese Minister of Defense asks if she "put on the stone mask and feeds on blood", referencing the anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventures ''Zero no Tsukaima'' *Lelei's profession as a mage may have been inspired by the character Tabitha (Charlotte Hélène d'Orléans) from Zero no Tsukaima, who is herself a template clone of Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion (see above). Video games ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' *One of the US Army Rangers soldiers is named Ramirez, a possible reference to the player character of the video game in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. ''Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation'' *One of the JASDF cargo plane who send a message to Itami about Zorzal's coup had the call-sign Garuda 1, the same as the player character in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. Category:Media Category:Terminology